With the slogan Huesca La Magia, the Alto Aragonese province has been awarded at the World Travel Awards as the best destination in Europe for adventure tourism. A very meritorious award for the Huesca populations and companies, since other famous enclaves from Scandinavian and Alpine countries and even some archipelago with a tropical environment such as the Azores islands, synonymous with adventures in nature, competed in the same category.
However, Huesca was chosen for the enormous amalgam of proposals it offers to those who want to raise their adrenaline levels a little, or a lot, during the days of their vacation. Whether it is summer or winter weeks, since in the landscapes of Huesca the vertigo and challenges do not cease any month of the year.
Now in winter the undisputed kings are snow and alpine skiing. Huesca has four specialized stations, with Candanchú as the dean with its almost 100 years of history. However, skiing on the slopes is the least of the feats provided by the snow, ice and cold of the Pyrenees. There are other adventures to discover. For example, making a mark with Nordic skis when sliding through the Llanos del Hospital in the Benasque Valley. Or the more experienced can put on snowshoes to cross the Pineta forests, in the easternmost area of ??the Ordesa national park.
Although those who seek to boast of authentic challenges can experience emotions to the limit. Exclusively for mountaineers with long experience and perfectly equipped. Only in this way is it possible to ascend in winter to the most charismatic three thousand of the mountain range: Aneto or Monte Perdido. Summits that are actually reached throughout the year, always with the relevant equipment and prudence as the best guide. It’s about living an adventure, but above all about enjoying it and telling about it later.
All the roads that run through the mountains do not go up that high. There are miles and miles of marked trails for all levels. Some propose family adventures such as exploring the fairy-tale beech forest of the Selva de Oza, discovering prehistoric megaliths. Others, such as the route of the Montfalcó footbridges going up the Mont-rebei gorge, are paths for tempered nerves, since they fly over water channels through steps laid in the void. And there are also paths that require walking and climbing through staples and via ferrata tows, sometimes as accessible and fun as the one that leads to the Roldán waterfall, located to the west of Sierra de Guara and a quarter of an hour from the city of Huesca.
If you intend to climb, rather than climb, then the options abound. In the heart of the Sierra de Guara itself rise the limestone walls of Rodellar. Or if you want to experiment with ice climbing, several waterfalls in Canal Roya and the Izas Valley are frozen, inviting you to experiment with crampons and ice axes. But if we talk about climbing in Huesca, then there is an essential myth: the mallos of Riglos. Masses of reddish and sedimentary rocks that attract climbers from all over the continent.
Mountaineering, climbing, vertigo and ice routes… but for Huesca to have become the best adventure tourism destination, more is needed. And that plus is to propose a wide range of activities that also includes exploits in aquatic environments. Perhaps, the most emblematic of the province.
In numerous river gorges it is common to see people dressed in neoprene suits to jump, swim and rappel while canyoning. It is possible to practice it in any of the Pyrenean regions: Ribargorza, Sobrarbe, Alto Gállego or Jacetania. But canyoning is a true tourist engine in Somontano, where there are many magnificent water courses to enjoy these descents. And of course there is the rugged Vero river bed, a benchmark for canyoning throughout the country.
In addition, the Ésera river that originates from Aneto, the Aragón that runs parallel to the Camino de Santiago or the Ara river, the only wild river left in Alto Aragón, provide wonderful waters, currents and eddies to learn about rafting. While kayaking is very common in the calm reservoirs of Barasona or Mediano. By the way, in the latter you can see divers diving to the bottom of the reservoir to contemplate the church and the old submerged houses of the town that gives its name to the reservoir.
And from the bottom of a swamp to the heavens. Yes, adventure tourism in Huesca challenges aerial challenges. The most recognized is paragliding. There are several points to take flight, but doing so from the foothills of Gallinero Peak in the Ribagorza town of Castejón de Sos is the most popular. So much so that world paragliding championships have been held here. The Santa Cilia airfield, 20 minutes from Jaca, also has an international atmosphere. And its runways and wind conditions are ideal for taking off in motorless gliders and taking a bird’s-eye view of much of the mountain range. Something that can also be done from the gyroplanes that take off from the outskirts of Aínsa.
In short, if you are looking for a little adventure, you will find it throughout the province of Huesca. Whether by land, air or water.
Adventure tourism generates more than 300 companies in Huesca. The vast majority are dedicated to guiding tourists in the practice of water descents, in flights or in carrying out routes to themize them and guarantee the safety of their clients. Just as there are many companies in charge of renting the equipment or elements necessary to carry out various activities.
However, tourism businesses have to stay up to date with the latest trends. And among them, more and more dizzying, colorful and easy-to-share challenges on social networks are being requested. Two giant zip lines have been laid along this line that never stop attracting visitors to its facilities. One is the Valle de Tena zip line that runs over the Búbal reservoir and another is the Ordesa Pirineos zip line, in whose descent speeds of 160 km/h have been reached, that is, the fastest in the world.